1980s In Music
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: ''For music from a year in the 1980s, go to 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89'' This article includes an overview of the famous events and trends in
popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fu ...
in the 1980s. The 1980s saw the emergence of electronic dance music and new wave, also known as Modern Rock. As
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...
fell out of fashion in the decade's early years, genres such as
post-disco Post-disco (also called boogie, synth-funk, or electro-funk) is a term to describe an aftermath in popular music history circa 1979–1985, imprecisely beginning with an unprecedented backlash against disco music in the United States, leading t ...
, Italo disco, Euro disco, and
dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
became more popular.
Rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States a ...
continued to enjoy a wide audience.
Soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...
,
glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ...
,
thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
, shred guitar characterized by heavy distortion, pinch harmonics, and whammy bar abuse became very popular.
Adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
,
quiet storm Quiet storm is a radio format and genre of R&B, performed in a smooth, romantic, jazz-influenced style. It was named after the title song on Smokey Robinson's 1975 album ''A Quiet Storm''. The radio format was pioneered in 1976 by Melvin Lin ...
, and
smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the ...
gained popularity. In the late 1980s,
glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ...
became the largest, most commercially successful brand of music worldwide. The 1980s are commonly remembered for a great increase in the use of
digital recording In digital recording, an audio or video signal is converted into a stream of discrete numbers representing the changes over time in air pressure for audio, or chroma and luminance values for video. This number stream is saved to a storage ...
, associated with the usage of
synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
s, with
synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...
music and other electronic genres featuring non-traditional instruments increasing in popularity. Also during this decade, several major electronic genres were developed, including electro,
techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
,
house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...
,
freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Lab ...
, and
Eurodance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...
, rising in prominence during the 1990s and beyond. Throughout the decade, R&B, hip hop, and urban genres were becoming commonplace, particularly in the inner-city areas of large, metropolitan cities; rap was especially successful in the latter part of the decade, with the advent of the golden age of hip hop. These urban genres—particularly rap and hip hop—would continue their rise in popularity through the 1990s and 2000s. A 2010 survey conducted by the digital broadcaster Music Choice, which polled over 11,000 European participants, revealed that the 1980s was the most favoured tune decade of the last 40 years. Notable artists include
Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...
,
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...
,
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
,
George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling music ...
(as well as
Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling mor ...
),
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...
and
The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...
.


Economics

Reflecting on changes in the
music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...
during the 1980s,
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
later wrote in '' Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s'' (1990): Commercial stardom, as measured by
music recording sales certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
s, replaced artistry as an indication of a musician's significance, according to Christgau. "When art is intellectual property, image and aura subsume aesthetic substance, whatever exactly that is", he explained. "When art is the capital, sales interface with aesthetic quality—''
Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...
''s numbers are part of its experience."


North America


Pop

The 1980s saw the reinvention of
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...
, and the worldwide superstardom of
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...
,
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
and
Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...
, who were all among the most successful musicians during this time. Michael Jackson, along with
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...
, was the first African American artist to have his music videos in heavy rotation on
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
, with "
Beat It "Beat It" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album, ''Thriller (Michael Jackson album), Thriller'' (1982). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. Jones encouraged Jackson to include a ...
", and "
Billie Jean "Billie Jean" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 2, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Jackson and ...
". (
Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her musi ...
placed the first two videos by an African American female artist, with " She Works Hard for the Money" and " Unconditional Love", both in 1983.) Jackson's ''
Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...
'' (1982) is the best-selling album of all time, selling 25 million copies during the decade. The album had sold over 65 million copies. His other album, 1987's '' Bad'', has the honour of being the first album in history to have five number-one singles on the '' Billboard'' Hot 100. Its accompanying world tour also made history by being the highest-grossing tour by a solo artist in the 1980s, as well as the highest-grossing at the time. In addition to being the biggest selling artist of the decade, Jackson had nine number-one singles – more than any other activities during the decade – and spent the longest time at number one (27 weeks) in the 1980s. He won numerous awards, including "Artist of the Decade" and "Artist of the Century", and was arguably the biggest star of the 1980s.
Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...
was one of the most successful artists of the decade. Her eponymous debut studio album was the best-selling debut album by a solo artist at the time, and her sophomore album '' Whitney'' is the first female album to debut at No. 1 in the ''Billboard'' 200. She also became the first and only artist to earn seven consecutive number-one songs on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, from "
Saving All My Love for You "Saving All My Love for You" is a song written by Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin, originally recorded by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. for their album ''Marilyn & Billy'' (1978). American singer Whitney Houston recorded a cover of the song ...
" in 1985 to "
Where Do Broken Hearts Go "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her second studio album, '' Whitney'' (1987). It was released as the fourth single from the album on February 25, 1988. The song was written by Frank Wildhorn ...
" in 1988. Her crossover appeal on the popular music charts as well as her prominence on
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
influenced generations of
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
artists.
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
was the best-selling female pop music artist of the decade. Her third studio release, '' True Blue'', became the best-selling female album of the 1980s. Other Madonna albums from the decade include '' Like a Virgin'', one of the best selling albums of all-time, and '' Like a Prayer'' ("As close to art as pop music gets," said ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
''). Madonna made music videos a marketing tool and was among the first to make them an art form. Her songs topped several charts, such as: " Like a Virgin", " Papa Don't Preach", "
La Isla Bonita "La Isla Bonita" is a song by American singer Madonna from her third studio album '' True Blue'' (1986). Written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard, with additional lyrics by Bruce Gaitsch, the song was originally presented by Leonard ...
" and " Like a Prayer". Madonna was named artist of the decade by several magazines and awards.
Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...
hit it big in 1988. With her debut album ''
Forever Your Girl ''Forever Your Girl'' is the debut studio album by American singer Paula Abdul. It was released on June 21, 1988, through Virgin Records. The album was Abdul's breakthrough into the music industry after being a choreographer for high-profile art ...
'', she was the first female to have four number-one singles from a debut album (only
The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...
had done the same with their debut). She had five top ten hits from the album. By 1980, the
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...
genre, largely dependent on
orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
s, was replaced by a lighter
synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...
production, which subsequently fuelled dance music. In the latter half of the 1980s,
teen pop Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards preteens and teenagers.Lamb, Bill"Teen Pop" About.com. Retrieved January 28, 2007. Teen pop incorporates different subgenres of pop music, as well as elements o ...
experienced its first wave, with bands and artists including Exposé,
Debbie Gibson Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Gibson released her debut album '' Out of the Blue'' in 1987, which spawned several international hits, later being certified triple plati ...
, Tiffany,
New Edition New Edition is an American R&B/Pop group from the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a 'new edition' of the Jackson 5. The group reached its height of popularity in the 19 ...
, Stacey Q, The Bangles,
New Kids on the Block New Kids on the Block (also initialized as NKOTB) is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block enjoy ...
, Laura Branigan,
Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...
and others becoming teen idols. Prominent American urban pop acts of the 1980s include
Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...
,
Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recor ...
, Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, Whitney Houston and
Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...
. African American artists like
Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recor ...
and
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...
became some of the decade's biggest stars. Their hit albums included ''
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
'', '' Purple Rain'', and '' Sign o' the Times'' by Prince and ''
Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recor ...
'', '' Can't Slow Down'', and '' Dancing on the Ceiling'' by Richie. Prince was one of the decade's most prolific artists, not just by being the top-charting artist in the US and worldwide. He was responsible for artists such as Vanity 6, for whom he wrote the dance chart-topping " Nasty Girl";
Morris Day Morris E. Day (born December 13, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time. Music career Morris Day is best known as the lead singer of The Time, a group associated with Prince. Day and Pri ...
and The Time, for whom he wrote the top 20 " Jungle Love"; Sheila E., for whom he wrote the top ten songs " The Glamorous Life" and number 11 " A Love Bizarre"; and Wendy & Lisa and Apollonia 6. He wrote " I Feel for You" for
Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Q ...
, which won him a Grammy for best R&B song; " Sugar Walls" for Sheena Easton; and as well as doing a duet with " U Got the Look", he wrote " Manic Monday", a number two pop hit for The Bangles. Artists that covered his music included
Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...
, who brought his version of the song "
Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
" into the top 40 for the second time in the decade. Melissa Morgan brought her cover of " Do Me, Baby" to the top of the R&B charts in 1986. Other notable artists that covered Prince during the 1980s were
The Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American pop and R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, bl ...
and
Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...
. He also won an Academy Award for the song " Purple Rain". In 1989, Irish singer Sinead O'Connor would record a cover of his song " Nothing Compares 2 U", which would become the biggest song of the year worldwide in the new decade to follow. Prince had four number-one singles and 14 top ten hits on the Hot 100 Chart. Lionel Richie teamed with
Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...
to record one of the decade's biggest hits " Endless Love", which topped the Billboard charts for nine weeks. Other songs by Richie, such as " All Night Long" and " Hello" also topped the charts, and he would have a total of five number one hits and thirteen top ten singles.
Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...
brought " Upside Down" to the top spot in 1980; she would have two number-one singles, and eight top ten hits in the decade.
Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...
topped the charts with "
What's Love Got to Do with It What's Love Got to Do with It may refer to: *Tina Turner: ** "What's Love Got to Do with It" (song), a 1984 song by Tina Turner ** ''What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993 film), a biographical film about Tina Turner ** ''What's Love Got to Do with ...
" and scored a total of six top ten singles.
Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her musi ...
's " She Works Hard for the Money" was a continuation of the feminist movement started in the 70s and a rallying cry for those who worked hard and wanted to be treated fairly. She would have five top ten singles in the decade.
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...
's '' Born in the U.S.A.'',
AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal, but the band calls it ...
's ''
Back in Black ''Back in Black'' is the seventh studio album by Australian rock band AC/DC. It was released on 25 July 1980 by Albert Productions and Atlantic Records. It is the band's first album to feature lead singer Brian Johnson, following the death of ...
'',
Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...
's ''
Hysteria Hysteria is a term used colloquially to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that ...
'', and
Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald. Original bassist Alec John such qu ...
's '' Slippery When Wet'' were some of the decade's biggest-selling albums on the Billboard Top 200 chart. During the mid-1980s American pop singer
Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...
was considered the "Voice of the
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
Generation of '80s" and so different visual style that made the world for teens. Her first two albums '' She's So Unusual'' (1984) and '' True Colors'' (1986) were critically and commercially successful, spawning the hits, "
Girls Just Want to Have Fun "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a song written, recorded and performed by American musician Robert Hazard, who released it as a single in 1979. It is best known for the version of American singer Cyndi Lauper, who covered the song in 1983. It ...
", " Time After Time", " She Bop", " All Through the Night", " The Goonies 'R' Good Enough", " True Colors" and " Change of Heart". Several British artists made the successful transition to pop during the 1980s and saw great commercial success, such as
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
,
Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
,
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
, Billy Ocean, Sheena Easton and
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
. Many British pop bands also dominated the American charts in the early 1980s. Many of them became popular due to their constant exposure on
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
, these bands included
The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...
,
Culture Club Culture Club are an English pop band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), Mikey Craig (bass guitar) and formerly included Jon Moss (drums and percussion). Emerging in the New ...
,
Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger Taylor the following year the band we ...
, and
Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling mor ...
. Between the four, they have had 9 U.S. number ones with hits like " Don't You Want Me", " Karma Chameleon", "
The Reflex "The Reflex" is the eleventh single by English new wave band Duran Duran, released in 1984. The song was heavily remixed for single release and was the third and last to be taken from their third studio album '' Seven and the Ragged Tiger'' ...
" and "
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" is a song by the English duo Wham!, first released as a single in the UK on 14 May 1984. It became their first UK and US number one hit. It was written and produced by George Michael. The single was certified pla ...
". In the later part of the decade, Rick Astley,
George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling music ...
as a solo artist, Terence Trent D'Arby, and Fine Young Cannibals all found chart success. At the beginning of the 1980s, Australian artists like
Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one s ...
, Men at Work, Air Supply and
AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal, but the band calls it ...
all had chart success, later in the decade
INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss ...
scored hits. Olivia Newton-John's hit "
Physical Physical may refer to: * Physical examination, a regular overall check-up with a doctor * ''Physical'' (Olivia Newton-John album), 1981 ** "Physical" (Olivia Newton-John song) * ''Physical'' (Gabe Gurnsey album) * "Physical" (Alcazar song) (2004) * ...
" would top the Hot 100 for 10 weeks and be the decade's biggest hit in the US; she would have six top ten singles during the 80s. American artists such as
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...
,
Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...
,
Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
,
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
,
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...
, Kool & the Gang,
The Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American pop and R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, bl ...
,
Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since th ...
,
Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...
,
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...
,
Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...
and
John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumen ...
, then known as John Cougar, ruled the charts throughout the decade in the US. Jackson, Houston, Prince, Madonna, Joel and Springsteen along with U2,
Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and per ...
,
Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
,
The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...
,
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
,
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...
and
Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British Pop music, pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart (musician and producer), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio alb ...
achieved tremendous success worldwide.


Rock

In the 1980s, rock music was more precisely defined and split up into multiple subgenres.


Hard rock and heavy/glam metal

Beginning in 1983 and peaking in success in 1986-1990, the decade saw the resurgence of
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest ha ...
music and the emergence of its
glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ...
subgenre. Bands such as
AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal, but the band calls it ...
,
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
,
Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...
,
Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
,
Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albu ...
,
Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald. Original bassist Alec John such qu ...
, Quiet Riot, Scorpions,
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, Ratt,
Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include " We're Not Gonna Take It" and " I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with ...
,
Poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...
, Dokken,
Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own en ...
, and Cinderella were among the most popular acts of the decade. The 1980s saw the emergence of wildly popular hard rock band
Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff ...
and the successful comebacks of
Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whitford (guitar). Their style, which is rooted in blues ...
and
Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guilloti ...
in the late 1980s. The success of hard rock act
Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
spanned throughout the entire decade, first with singer
David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Best known for his wild, energetic stage persona, he was the original lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen across three stints, from 1974 to 1985, in 1996 and again fro ...
and later with Sammy Hagar. Queen, which had expanded its music to experimental and crossover genres in the early 1980s, returned to guitar-driven hard rock with '' The Miracle'' in 1989. Additionally, a few women managed to achieve stardom in the 1980s hard rock scene:
Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo ('' née'' Andrzejewski, formerly Benatar; born January 10, 1953), known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American rock singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has had two multi-platinum albums, five platinum al ...
and Ann and Nancy Wilson of
Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as ca ...
, who had been around since the mid 1970s, are prime examples of female success in hard rock, and so are both ex- Runaways Joan Jett and Lita Ford. The arena rock trend of the 1970s continued in the 1980s with bands like
Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, ...
, Rush, Journey, Foreigner,
REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon) is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. T ...
,
ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sou ...
, and
Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whitford (guitar). Their style, which is rooted in blues ...
. Traditionally associated (and often confused) with hard rock, heavy metal was also extremely popular throughout the decade, with
Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...
achieving success during his solo career; bands like
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harr ...
,
Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...
and Dio were also widely popular British acts.
Speed metal Speed metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. ...
pioneer
Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a prec ...
maintained its popularity through the releases of several albums. Underground scenes produced an array of more extreme, aggressive Metal subgenres:
thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
broke into the mainstream with bands such as
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
,
Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical styl ...
,
Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * E ...
,
Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The s ...
, and
Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...
. By the late 1980s,
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
would achieve mainstream success and would become one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Other styles like
death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...
and
black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...
would remain a subcultural phenomena. The decade also saw the emergence of a string of guitar virtuosi:
Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he co-founded along ...
, George Lynch,
Joe Satriani Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". '' AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and guitar teacher. Early in his ...
, Steve Vai,
Randy Rhoads Randall William Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) was an American guitarist. He was the co-founder and original guitarist of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot, and the guitarist and co-songwriter for Ozzy Osbourne's first two solo al ...
, Jason Becker and
Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen ( ; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, 30 June 1963) is a Swedish guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 22 studio albums in a career spanning ov ...
achieved international recognition for their skills. While considerably less numerous, bass guitar virtuosi also gained momentum in the 1980s: Geddy Lee (of Rush), Billy Sheehan (of
David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Best known for his wild, energetic stage persona, he was the original lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen across three stints, from 1974 to 1985, in 1996 and again fro ...
and Mr. Big (American band), Mr. Big fame), Cliff Burton (of
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
) and alternative/funk metal bassist Les Claypool (of Primus (band), Primus fame) became famous during that period. Iron Maiden founder and bassist Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris has also been praised numerous times for his galloping style of bass playing. Both hard rock and heavy metal were extremely popular live genres and bands toured extensively around the globe.


Alternative rock

By 1984, a majority of groups signed to Independent record label, independent record labels were mining from a variety of rock and particularly 1960s rock influences. This represented a sharp break from the futuristic, hyper-rational post-punk years. Throughout the 1980s, alternative rock was mainly an underground phenomenon. While on occasion a song would become a commercial hit or albums would receive critical praise in mainstream publications like ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'', alternative rock in the 1980s was primarily relegated to independent record labels, fanzines and college radio stations. Alternative bands built underground followings by touring constantly and regularly releasing low-budget albums. In the case of the United States, new bands would form in the wake of previous bands, which created an extensive underground circuit in America, filled with different scenes in various parts of the country.Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "[ American Alternative Rock/Post-Punk]". Allmusic. Retrieved May 20, 2006. Although American alternative artists of the 1980s never generated spectacular album sales, they exerted a considerable influence on later alternative musicians and laid the groundwork for their success. Early American alternative bands such as R.E.M., The Hits, The Feelies, and Violent Femmes combined punk influences with folk music and mainstream music influences. R.E.M. was the most immediately successful; its debut album, ''Murmur (album), Murmur'' (1983), entered the Top 40 and spawned a number of jangle pop followers. Alternative and indie pop movements sprang up in other parts of the world, from the Paisley Underground of Los Angeles ( The Bangles, Rain Parade) to Scotland (Aztec Camera, Orange Juice (band), Orange Juice), Australia (The Church (band), The Church, The Triffids), and New Zealand's Dunedin sound (The Clean, The Chills). American indie record labels SST Records, Twin/Tone Records, Touch and Go Records, and Dischord Records presided over the shift from the hardcore punk that then dominated the American underground scene to the more diverse styles of alternative rock that were emerging. Music of Minnesota, Minnesota bands Hüsker Dü and The Replacements (band), The Replacements were indicative of this shift. Both started as punk rock bands, but soon diversified their sounds and became more melodic. By the late 1980s, the American alternative scene was dominated by styles ranging from quirky alternative pop (They Might Be Giants and Camper Van Beethoven), to noise rock (Big Black, Swans (band), Swans) to industrial rock (Ministry (band), Ministry, Nine Inch Nails) and to early Grunge (Mudhoney, Nirvana (band), Nirvana). These sounds were in turn followed by the advent of Boston (band), Boston's the Pixies (band), Pixies and Los Angeles' Jane's Addiction. American alternative rock bands of the 1980s included Hüsker Dü, The Replacements (band), The Replacements, Minutemen (band), Minutemen, R.E.M., Dinosaur Jr., Pixies (band), Pixies, and Sonic Youth which were popular long before the Grunge movement of the early 1990s. New singers and songwriters included
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...
,
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...
, Tom Petty, Mark Heard, Lucinda Williams, Patti Smith, Rickie Lee Jones, Terence Trent D'Arby, Stevie Nicks, Suzanne Vega, Cheryl Wheeler and Warren Zevon. Rock and even punk rock artists such as Peter Case,
Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
and Paul Westerberg transitioned to careers as solo singers. In the late 1980s, the term was applied to a group of predominantly female U.S. artists, beginning with Suzanne Vega whose first album sold unexpectedly well, followed by the likes of Tracy Chapman, Nanci Griffith, k.d. lang and Tori Amos, who found success first in the United Kingdom, then in her home market.


Other trends

Various older rock bands made a comeback. Bands originating from the early to mid-1960s such as The Beach Boys and The Kinks had hits with "Kokomo (song), Kokomo", "Come Dancing (song), Come Dancing" and "Do It Again". Bands with popularity in the mid-1970s such as the Steve Miller Band and Steely Dan also had hits with "Abracadabra (Steve Miller Band song), Abracadabra" and "Hey Nineteen". Singer and songwriter
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...
released his blockbuster album '' Born in the U.S.A.'', which produced a record-tying 7 hit singles. Stevie Ray Vaughan and George Thorogood sparked a revival of Atomic blues and Blues rock. Massively successful hard rock band Led Zeppelin disbanded after drummer John Bonham's 1980 death, while contemporaries
AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal, but the band calls it ...
continued to have success after the death of former frontman Bon Scott. Country rock saw a decline after Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1977 plane crash and 1980 disbanding of the genre's most successful band, Eagles (band), the Eagles. The Grateful Dead had their biggest hit in band history with "Touch of Grey". The Who managed to provide the hit songs "You Better You Bet" and "Eminence Front" before burning out after the death of their drummer Keith Moon. Hardcore punk flourished throughout the early to mid-1980s, with bands leading the genre such as Black Flag (band), Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Suicidal Tendencies, D.O.A. (band), D.O.A., and Dead Kennedys amongst others. It began to wane in the latter half of the decade, with the New York hardcore, New York hardcore scene dominating the genre. However, it experiences a jumpstart in the late 1980s with emerging bands such as Operation Ivy (band), Operation Ivy and Green Day that would define not just the so-called "East Bay" sound but impact the next decade's punk and alternative sound. Some of which is still around today. The 1980s proved a difficult time for many 1960s-70s veterans, many of them unable or unwilling to adapt to current trends. Music icons such as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...
released albums that were often poor quality and critically panned as they attempted to grapple with the changing times. MTV in particular was a problem for many artists, as it put a premium on youthfulness, good looks, and showmanship. Artists who became strongly associated with disco music also fell from grace and were often banned from radio play.


Contemporary R&B

Contemporary R&B originated in the 1980s, when musicians started adding
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...
-like beats, high-tech production, and elements of hip hop music, hip hop, soul music, soul and funk to rhythm and blues, making it more danceable and modern. The top mainstream R&B artists of 1980s included
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...
,
Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...
,
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...
, Jermaine Jackson, James Ingram, The S.O.S. Band, Stevie Wonder, Kool & the Gang, Jeffrey Osborne, Smokey Robinson, Rick James,
Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...
,
Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recor ...
, Earth, Wind & Fire,
New Edition New Edition is an American R&B/Pop group from the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a 'new edition' of the Jackson 5. The group reached its height of popularity in the 19 ...
, Evelyn King (singer), Evelyn King, Marvin Gaye, The Jets (Minnesota band), The Jets, DeBarge, Midnight Star (band), Midnight Star, Club Nouveau, Stephanie Mills, Jody Watley, Rockwell (musician), Rockwell, Rene and Angela, and Freddie Jackson. In the mid-1980s, many of the recordings by artists Luther Vandross, Freddie Jackson, Sade Adu, Sade, Anita Baker, Teddy Pendergrass, Peabo Bryson and others became widely heard on the new
quiet storm Quiet storm is a radio format and genre of R&B, performed in a smooth, romantic, jazz-influenced style. It was named after the title song on Smokey Robinson's 1975 album ''A Quiet Storm''. The radio format was pioneered in 1976 by Melvin Lin ...
radio format. The term had originated with Smokey Robinson's 1975 album ''A Quiet Storm''. Quiet storm has been described as "R&B's answer to soft rock and adult contemporary—while it was primarily intended for black audiences, quiet storm had the same understated dynamics, relaxed tempos and rhythms, and romantic sentiment."
Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...
made a huge comeback during the mid-1980s, while
Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her musi ...
,
Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...
,
The Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American pop and R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, bl ...
and Irene Cara had success on the pop charts first half of the decade.
Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...
, Janet Jackson and Jody Watley had it in the second half of the decade. Irene Cara's Flashdance... What a Feeling was the number one song worldwide in 1983, and for the decade of the 80s. Richard J. Ripani wrote that Janet Jackson's third studio album ''Control (Janet Jackson album), Control'' (1986) was "important to the development of R&B for several reasons", as she and her producers, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, "crafted a new sound that fuses the rhythmic elements of funk and disco, along with heavy doses of synthesizers, percussion, sound effects, and a rap music sensibility." Ripani wrote that "the success of ''Control'' led to the incorporation of stylistic traits of rap over the next few years, and Janet Jackson was to continue to be one of the leaders in that development." That same year, Teddy Riley (new jack swing), Teddy Riley began producing R&B recordings that included hip hop influences. This combination of R&B style and hip hop rhythms was termed ''new jack swing'', and was applied to artists such as Bobby Brown, Keith Sweat, Guy (band), Guy, Today, Wreckx-n-Effect, Big Daddy Kane, Kool Moe Dee, Heavy D & the Boyz, Tammy Lucas, Nayobe, Abstrac, Deja, Starpoint, and Bell Biv DeVoe. Michael Jackson remained a prominent figure in the genre in the late 1980s, following the release of his album '' Bad'' (1987) which sold 6 million copies in the US in the 80s, and went on to sell more than 30 million copies worldwide. Janet Jackson's 1989 album ''Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'' continued the development of contemporary R&B into the 1990s, as the album's title track "Rhythm Nation" made "use of elements from across the R&B spectrum, including use of a sample loop, triplet swing, rapped vocal parts and blues notes." The release of ''Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'' became the only album in history to produce number one hits on the Billboard Charts Hot 100 in three separate calendar years—"Miss You Much" in 1989, "Escapade (song), Escapade" and "Black Cat (song), Black Cat" in 1990, and "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" in 1991—and the only album in the history of the Hot 100 to have seven top 5 hit singles.


Hip hop

Encompassing graffiti art, break dancing, rap music, and fashion, hip-hop became the dominant cultural movement of the African American communities in the 1980s. The Hip hop musical genre had a strong influence on pop music in the late 1980s which continues to the present day. During the 1980s, the hip hop genre started embracing the creation of rhythm by using the human body, via the vocal percussion technique of beatboxing. Pioneers such as Africa Bambaataa, DJ Kool Herc, Melle Mel, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Whodini, Sugarhill Gang, Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie and Buffy from the Fat Boys made beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using their mouth, lips, tongue, voice, and other body parts. "Human Beatbox" artists would also sing or imitate turntablism scratching or other instrument sounds. The 1980s also saw many artists make social statements through hip hop. In 1982, Melle Mel and Duke Bootee recorded "The Message (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five song), The Message" (officially credited to Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five), a song that foreshadowed the socially conscious statements of Run-DMC's "It's Like That (Run-D.M.C. song), It's Like That" and Public Enemy (band), Public Enemy's "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos". Popular hip hop artists of the 1980s include Kurtis Blow, Run D.M.C., Beastie Boys, N.W.A, NWA, LL Cool J, Public Enemy (group), Public Enemy, Eric B. & Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Boogie Down Productions, Kid N Play, MC Lyte, EPMD, Salt N Pepa, and Ice-T, Schooly D, Slick Rick, Kool Moe Dee, Whodini, MC Hammer, among others.


Electronic music

In the 1980s, dance music records made using only Electronic musical instrument, electronic instruments became increasingly popular, largely influenced by the electronic music of Kraftwerk and 1970s disco music. Such music was originally born of and popularized via regional nightclub scenes in the 1980s, and became the predominant type of music played in discothèques as well as the rave scene. House music is a style of electronic dance music which originated in Chicago, Illinois, in the early 1980s. House music was strongly influenced by elements of soul music, soul- and funk-infused varieties of
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...
. Club play from pioneering DJs like Ron Hardy and Lil Louis, local dance music record shops, and the popular Hot Mix 5 shows on radio station WVAZ, WBMX-FM helped popularize house music in Chicago and among visiting DJs & producers from Detroit. Trax Records and DJ International Records, local labels with wider distribution, helped popularize house music outside of Chicago. It eventually reached Europe before becoming infused in mainstream pop & dance music worldwide during the 1990s. It has been widely cited that the initial blueprint for
techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
was developed during the mid-1980s in Detroit, Michigan, by Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson, Derrick May (musician), Derrick May (the so-called "Belleville Three"), and Eddie Fowlkes, all of whom attended school together at Belleville High School (Belleville, Michigan), Belleville High, near Detroit.Sicko 1999 Though initially conceived as party music that was played on daily mixed radio programs and played at parties given by cliquish, Detroit high school clubs, it has grown to be a global phenomenon.


Country music

As the 1980s dawned, country pop, pop-influenced country music was the dominant style, through such acts as
Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...
, Ronnie Milsap, T.G. Sheppard, Eddie Rabbitt, Crystal Gayle, Anne Murray and Dolly Parton. The 1980 movie ''Urban Cowboy'', a romantic comedy starring John Travolta and Debra Winger, spawned a successful soundtrack album featuring pop-styled country songs, including "Lookin' for Love" by Johnny Lee (singer), Johnny Lee, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels Band, "Could I Have This Dance" by Murray and "Love the World Away" by Rogers. The songs, and the movie itself, resulted in an early 1980s boom in pop-style country music, and the era is sometimes known as the "Urban Cowboy Movement". By the mid-1980s, country music audiences were beginning to tire of country-pop. Although some pop-country artists continued to record and release successful songs and albums, the genre, in general, was beginning to suffer. By 1985, a ''New York Times'' article declared country music "dead". However, by this time, several newcomers were working behind the scenes to reverse this perception. The year 1986 brought forth several new artists who performed in traditional country styles, such as honky-tonk. This sparked the "new traditionalist" movement, or return to traditional country music. The most successful of these artists included Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam, Ricky Van Shelton and Holly Dunn. Also, artists like Kathy Mattea and Keith Whitley, both of whom had been performing for a few years prior, had their first major hits during 1986; Mattea was more folk-styled, while Whitley was pure honky-tonk. But the new traditionalist movement had already taken hold as early as 1981 when newcomers such as Ricky Skaggs and George Strait had their first big hits. Reba McEntire had her first big hit in 1980 followed by 15 other number one hit singles during the decade. Also, songwriter–guitarist and Chet Atkins protégée Steve Wariner also emerged as a popular act starting in the early 1980s. Another boom period for newcomers with new traditionalist styles was 1989, when artists such as Clint Black, Garth Brooks, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lorrie Morgan and Travis Tritt had their first big hits. It was Whitley who was seen as being one of the torchbearers of the new traditionalist movement, thanks to his pure honky-tonk style in the vein of Lefty Frizzell and others, and his star power was set to rise into the 1990s; however, Whitley was a known heavy drinker, and it was alcohol poisoning that ended his life in May 1989, just weeks after a song about triumph over personal demons – "I'm No Stranger to the Rain"—became a huge country hit. In keeping with the neotraditionalist movement, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris teamed up to release 1987's Platinum-selling ''Trio (Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris album), Trio'' album. Composed mostly of traditional songs set to acoustic arrangements, the album won a Grammy in 1988 for best country collaboration. Vocal duos were also popular because of their harmonies, most notably The Bellamy Brothers and The Judds. Several of the Bellamy Brothers' songs included double-entendre' laden hook (rhetoric), hooks, on songs such as "Do You Love as Good As You Look". The Judds, a mother-and-daughter duo, combined elements of contemporary pop and traditional country music on songs such as "Why Not Me" and "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Ol' Days)". Country music groups and bands continued to rise in popularity during the 1980s. The most successful of the lot was Alabama (American band), Alabama, a Fort Payne, Alabama, Fort Payne-based band that blended traditional and pop-country sounds with southern rock. Their concerts regularly sold out, while their single releases regularly reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles, Hot Country Songs chart. Their mellow love ballad side would be most prominent in songs like "Feels So Right (song), Feels So Right," "When We Make Love (Alabama song), When We Make Love," "There's No Way (Alabama song), There's No Way" and "If I Had You (Alabama song), If I Had You," while their southern rock influences and Southern pride were most evident on songs like "Tennessee River (song), Tennessee River," "Dixieland Delight" and "Song Of the South." In 1989, Alabama was named the Artist of the Decade by the Academy of Country Music. By the end of the 1980s, the group had sold more than 24 million albums in the United States. Ranking just behind Alabama in popularity, as far as groups were concerned, were The Oak Ridge Boys and The Statler Brothers, both four-part harmony groups with the gospel and country-pop stylings. The Oak Ridge Boys found their biggest successes with songs like "Elvira," "Bobbie Sue" and "American Made." The Statlers began the decade with tenor singer Lew DeWitt, but health issues forced his retirement, and he'd be succeeded by Jimmy Fortune; with Fortune, the Statlers had three No. 1 hits, the biggest of which was "Elizabeth (The Statler Brothers song), Elizabeth." The popularity of those three groups sparked a boom in new groups and bands, and by the end of the 1980s, fans were listening to such acts as Restless Heart and Exile (American band), Exile, the latter which previously enjoyed success with the pop hit "Kiss You All Over". Despite the prevailing pop-country sound, enduring acts from the 1970s and earlier continued to enjoy great success with fans. George Jones, one of the longest-running acts of the time, recorded several successful singles, including the critically acclaimed "He Stopped Loving Her Today". Conway Twitty continued to have a series of No. 1 hits, with 1986's "Desperado Love" becoming his 40th chart-topper on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart, a record that stood for nearly 20 years. The movie ''Coal Miner's Daughter (film), Coal Miner's Daughter'' profiled the life of Loretta Lynn (with Sissy Spacek in the lead role), while Willie Nelson also had a series of acting credits. Dolly Parton had much success in the 1980s, with several leading movie roles, two No. 1 album and 13 number one hits, and having many successful tours; she also teamed up with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt in 1987 for the multi-platinum ''Trio (Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris album), Trio'' album. Others who had been around for a while and continued to have great success were Eddy Arnold, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Ray Price (musician), Ray Price, Hank Williams Jr. and Tammy Wynette. In 1981, Jim Reeves and Patsy Cline, two artists who died in the 1960s (both in plane crashes), re-emerged in the spotlight when producer Bob Ferguson electronically created the "duet" "Have You Ever Been Lonely?, Have You Ever Been Lonely (Have You Ever Been Blue)." Neither Reeves nor Cline recorded together during their lifetimes but both recorded some of the same songs, and it was the style of "Have You Ever Been Lonely" that was the most conducive to a duet. The song was a top-5 success on the country chart in early 1982, and even got minor pop airplay. In addition to newcomer Whitley, top classic country and influential performers who died during the decade included Red Sovine, The Duke of Paducah, Whitey Ford, Marty Robbins, Merle Travis, Ernest Tubb, Wynn Stewart and Tex Williams. Although not directly associated with country music, Roy Orbison, a popular performer with many country music fans and whose styles wound up being influential with many newcomers, died in 1988.


Europe


Rock


Post-punk

Some of the most successful post-punk bands at the beginning of the decade, such as Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Psychedelic Furs, also continued their success during the 1980s. Members of Bauhaus (band), Bauhaus and Joy Division explored new stylistic territory as Love and Rockets (band), Love and Rockets and New Order (band), New Order respectively. The second generation of British post-punk bands that broke through in the early 1980s, including the Smiths, the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Cure, The Fall (band), the Fall, the Pop Group, the Mekons, Echo and the Bunnymen and Teardrop Explodes, tended to move away from dark sonic landscapes.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 1337-8. Even though the Police's first hit song "Roxanne (The Police song), Roxanne" was written by Sting (musician), Sting in 1978 (reaching number 12 in the UK Charts that year), the song continued to grow in popularity in the 1980s along with the band. Even though The Police had their roots in post-punk, their eventual success (four consecutive UK number one studio albums) and mega-stardom came from being able to pack the biggest stadium rock venues such as Wembley Stadium, Wembley, the Oakland Coliseum and the Estádio do Maracanã, Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. Aside from U2, they are the only other band with post-punk origins to go on and achieve the kind of global success they did. Ireland's U2 incorporated elements of religious imagery together with political commentary into their often anthemic music, and by the late 1980s had become one of the biggest bands in the world. Although many post-punk bands continued to record and perform, it declined as a movement in the mid-1980s as acts disbanded or moved off to explore other musical areas, but it has continued to influence the development of rock music and has been seen as a major element in the creation of the alternative rock movement.


New wave music

The arrival of
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
in 1981 would usher in New wave music, new wave's most successful era. British artists, unlike many of their American counterparts, had learned how to use the music video early on.St. James encyclopedia of Pop Culture
/ref>''Rip It Up and Start Again Postpunk 1978-1984'' by Simon Reynolds Pages 340,342-343 Several British acts signed to independent labels were able to outmarket and outsell American artists that were signed with major labels. Journalists labelled this phenomenon a "Second British Invasion". In autumn 1982, "I Ran (So Far Away)" by A Flock of Seagulls entered the ''Billboard'' Top Ten, arguably the first successful song that owed almost everything to video. They would be followed by bands like
Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger Taylor the following year the band we ...
whose glossy videos would come to symbolize the power of MTV.
Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and per ...
' "Money for Nothing (song), Money for Nothing" gently poked fun at MTV which had helped make them international rock stars. In 1983, 30% of the record sales were from British acts. 18 of the top 40 and 6 of the top 10 singles on July 18 were by British artists. Overall record sales would rise by 10% from 1982. ''Newsweek'' magazine featured Annie Lennox and
Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...
on the cover of one of its issues while ''Rolling Stone Magazine'' would release an ''England Swings'' issue. In April 1984 40 of the top 100 singles were from British acts while 8 of the top 10 singles in a May 1985 survey were of British origin. Veteran music journalist Simon Reynolds theorized that similar to the first British Invasion the use of black American influences by the British acts helped to spur success. Commentators in the mainstream media credited
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
and the British acts with bringing colour and energy to back to pop music while rock journalists were generally hostile to the phenomenon because they felt it represented image over content. MTV continued its heavy rotation of videos by new wave-oriented acts until 1987 when it changed to a Heavy metal music, heavy metal and rock dominated format.


= New Romantics

= New Romanticism emerged as part of the new wave music movement in London's nightclub including Billy's and The Blitz Kids, Blitz Club towards the end of the 1970s. Influenced by
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
and Roxy Music, it developed glam rock fashions, gaining its name from the frilly fop shirts of early Romanticism. New Romantic music often made extensive use of synthesisers. Pioneers included Visage (band), Visage and Ultravox and among the commercially most successful acts associated with the movement were
Culture Club Culture Club are an English pop band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), Mikey Craig (bass guitar) and formerly included Jon Moss (drums and percussion). Emerging in the New ...
, Spandau Ballet and
Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger Taylor the following year the band we ...
.Rimmer, Dave. ''New Romantics: The Look'' (2003), Omnibus Press, . By about 1983, the original movement had dissolved, with surviving acts dropping most of the fashion elements to pursue mainstream careers. Other New Romantic artists included Classix Nouveaux, A Flock of Seagulls, Gary Numan, Japan (band), Japan, Landscape (band), Landscape, Thompson Twins, Soft Cell, ABC (band), ABC, the Teardrop Explodes, Yazoo (band), Yazoo and Talk Talk.


Gothic rock

Gothic rock music developed out of the post-punk scene in the later 1970s. Notable early gothic rock bands include Bauhaus (band), Bauhaus (whose "Bela Lugosi's Dead" is often cited as the first goth record), Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, The Sisters of Mercy, and Fields of the Nephilim.R. Shuker, ''Popular music: the key concepts'' (Routledge, 2005), p. 128. Gothic rock gave rise to a broader goth subculture that included clubs, Gothic fashion, various fashion trends and numerous publications that grew in popularity in the 1980s, gaining notoriety by being associated by several moral panics over suicide and Satanism.


Heavy metal

In the early 1980s, the new wave of British heavy metal broke into the mainstream, as albums by
Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...
,
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harr ...
, Saxon (band), Saxon and
Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a prec ...
, reached the British top 10. In 1981, Motörhead became the first of this new breed of metal bands to top the UK charts with ''No Sleep 'til Hammersmith''. After a string of UK top 10 albums,
Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own en ...
's 1987 Whitesnake (album), self-titled album was their most commercially successful, with hits, "Here I Go Again" and "Is This Love (Whitesnake song), Is This Love", earning them a nomination for the Brit Award for Best British Group.Whitesnake BRITS Profile
BRIT Awards Ltd
Many metal artists, including
Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...
, benefited from the exposure they received on Associated Television, ATV and became the inspiration for American
glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ...
.I. Christe ''Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal'' (London: HarperCollins, 2003), , p. 79. However, as the subgenre fragmented, much of the creative impetus shifted towards America and continental Europe (particularly Germany and Scandinavia), which produced most of the major new subgenres of metal, which were then taken up by British acts. These included
thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
and
death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...
, both developed in the UK;
black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...
and power metal, both developed in continental Europe, but influenced by the British band Venom (band), Venom; and doom metal, doom, which was developed in the US, but which soon were adopted by many bands from England, including Pagan Altar and Witchfinder General (band), Witchfinder General.


Pop

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
had three UK number-one singles in the 80s, seven US number-one singles, another with Genesis (band), Genesis, and when his work with Genesis, his work with other artists, as well as his solo career is totalled, Collins had more top 40 hits on the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 chart during the 1980s than any other artist. His former Genesis colleague, Peter Gabriel, also had a very successful solo career, which included a US number-one single and three top ten UK hits (including a duet with Kate Bush). Genesis guitarist Mike Rutherford also enjoyed the several UK and US hits with his project Mike + The Mechanics, which included a US number-one single.
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
saw much greater commercial success in the 1980s than he had in the previous decade, scoring four UK number one singles, including Let's Dance (David Bowie song), "Let's Dance" which proved to be his biggest ever hit. He had a total of ten UK top ten hits during the decade, two in collaboration with other artists.
Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...
and his band
Culture Club Culture Club are an English pop band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), Mikey Craig (bass guitar) and formerly included Jon Moss (drums and percussion). Emerging in the New ...
had great success in both the UK and US charts with major hits like "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", "Time (Clock of the Heart)" and " Karma Chameleon". As well as
Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...
having his own UK number one with his cover of Bread (band), Bread's "Everything I Own", he is considered a major icon of this era. Liverpool band Frankie Goes to Hollywood's initially controversial
dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
gave them three consecutive UK number ones in 1984, until they faded away in the mid-1980s. Dead or Alive (band), Dead or Alive, also from Liverpool, was another popular dance-pop band in the mid-1980s. It was fronted by lead singer Pete Burns. Probably the most successful British pop band of the era were the duo
Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling mor ...
with an unusual mix of
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...
, Soul music, soul, ballads and even Rapping, rap, who had eleven top ten hits in the UK, six of them number ones, between 1982 and 1986.P. Gambaccini, T. Rice and J. Rice, ''British Hit Singles'' (6th edn., 1985), pp. 338-9.
George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling music ...
released his debut solo album, ''Faith (George Michael album), Faith'' in 1987, and would go on to have seven UK number one singles. The 1985 concert Live Aid held at Wembley Stadium would see some of the biggest British artists of the era perform, with
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
widely regarded as stealing the show. Bonnie Tyler had major hits with "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Holding Out for a Hero", while Robert Palmer (singer), Robert Palmer's had two iconic music videos for "Addicted to Love (song), Addicted to Love" and "Simply Irresistible (song), Simply Irresistible". The Bee Gees 1987 single "You Win Again (Bee Gees song), You Win Again" reached number one, making them first group to score a UK #1 hit in each of three decades: the 1960s, '70s, and '80s. Other British artists who achieved success in the pop charts in the 80s included
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
, Elton John,
Culture Club Culture Club are an English pop band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), Mikey Craig (bass guitar) and formerly included Jon Moss (drums and percussion). Emerging in the New ...
, Kim Wilde, The Fixx, Joe Cocker, Rod Stewart, Kate Bush, Billy Idol, Paul Young, Elvis Costello, Simple Minds, Billy Ocean, Tears for Fears, UB40, Rick Astley, Madness (band), Madness and Sade (band), Sade. In 1988, Irish singer Enya achieved a breakthrough in her career with the album ''Watermark (Enya album), Watermark'' which sold over eleven million copies worldwide and helped launch Enya's successful career as a leading New-age music, new-age, Celtic music, Celtic, World music, World singer. Dutch band Tambourine (band), Tambourine received some notoriety in The Netherlands and Belgium toward the end of the decade.


Synthpop

Synthpop emerged from new wave, producing a form of pop music that followed electronic rock pioneers in the 1970s like Kraftwerk, Jean Michel Jarre, and Tangerine Dream, in which the
synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
is the dominant musical instrument. The sounds of synthesizers came to dominate the pop music of the early 1980s as well as replacing disco in dance clubs in Europe. Other successful synthpop artists of this era included Pet Shop Boys, Alphaville (band), Alphaville, Soft Cell, Depeche Mode, New Order (band), New Order, Gary Numan,
The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...
, Thomas Dolby, Howard Jones (English musician), Howard Jones, Yazoo (band), Yazoo, Art of Noise, Heaven 17, A Flock of Seagulls, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, OMD, Japan (band), Japan, Thompson Twins, Visage (band), Visage, Ultravox, Kajagoogoo,
Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British Pop music, pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart (musician and producer), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio alb ...
, a-ha, Telex (band), Telex, Real Life (band), Real Life, Erasure, Camouflage (band), Camouflage, London Boys, Modern Talking, Bananarama, Yellow Magic Orchestra.


Latin America


Pop

The 1980s gave rise to the teenage groups Menudo (band), Menudo, Timbiriche, and Los Chicos, as well as emerging teenage stars such as Luis Miguel, Sasha Sökol and Lucero (entertainer), Lucero. By 1988, however, the aforementioned Luis Miguel would transform into an adult superstar at age 18 with the hit ''La Incondicional'' (1989). Not too far behind was former Los Chicos' member Chayanne as he became a leading pop star by the end of the decade, with his 1987 hit ''Fiesta en America''. As young stars begin to rise in Latin music, veterans such as Julio Iglesias, José José, Juan Gabriel, and José Luis Rodríguez El Puma continue their dominance in Latin music. 1985 saw the worldwide breakthrough success of "Conga (song), Conga" by Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine. Argentine-Venezuelan singer Ricardo Montaner joins those veterans with his 1988 hit ''Tan Enamorado''. After the slow decline of Fania All-Stars, the new romantic genre of ''salsa Romantica'' would rise beginning in 1984. Younger salseros such as Frankie Ruiz, Luis Enrique (singer), Luis Enrique, and Eddie Santiago would take advantage of this new genre rising salsa to new heights. Tejano Music starts to give little rise after Mazz crosses over to Mexico after their albums ''Una Noche Juntos'' and ''No Te Olvidare'' win Grammys. In 1989, Juan Luis Guerra scores a major Merengue music, Merengue hit with ''Ojala que llueva cafe''. In the 1980s, the regional music scene in both Mexico and the Mexican American community in the United States was dominated by ''grupera''. This style of Mexican music combines cumbia music, cumbia, norteño (music), norteño, and rock music. The lyrics are rooted with romantic themes including broken heart, heartbroken songs. Several notable grupera ensembles include Los Caminantes, Los Yonic's, Los Bukis, and Los Temerarios. In 1985 Sheena Easton and Luis Miguel wins the Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album, Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Performance for "Me Gustas Tal Como Eres". Eugenia León, representing Mexico, wins the with her song "El Fandango Aquí". in 1986 Vikki Carr wins the Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album, Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Performance for ''Simplemente Mujer''.


Rock

The Rock en Español movement began around the 1980s. Until the mid-80s the rock scene of most Spanish American countries was not connected, and it was rare for a rock band to gain acclaim and popularity outside its home country. Argentina, which had the largest national rock scene and music industry, became the birthplace of several influential rock acts. Soda Stereo from Buenos Aires is often acclaimed as the most influential rock band of the 80s alongside the solo careers of Charly García, Luis Alberto Spinetta and the new star Fito Páez from Rosario. Soda Stereo was among the first bands to successfully tour across most of Latin America. Argentina developed also during the 80s a ska rock and punk rock scene. The punk movement, which was pioneered by Los Violadores, led to the rise of the Buenos Aires Hardcore around 1990. In Chile, that was ruled by a military dictatorship all over the 80s, Nueva canción protest songs from the 60s and 70s maintained their popularity despite severe censorship. The progressive/folk-rock band Los Jaivas made a Latin American trademark album with Alturas de Macchu Picchu [sic] based on Pablo Neruda's homonymous poem. The rock band Los Prisioneros were successful in combining the protest song atmosphere of the 80s with newer trends in rock including punk, ska, new wave and techno. In the late 1980s, new bands such as Los Tres and La Ley (band), La Ley would start to set the trends for the next decade. In Brazil, even though the 1960s witnessed the phenomenon of Jovem Guarda and the 1970s saw the appearance of many prolific artists, like Raul Seixas, and bands like Os Mutantes, Brazilian rock's explosion began in 1981 with the first expressions of the ''Brazilian new wave'', later renamed the ''New Jovem Guarda'' by the media. The alterations of the English new wave movement, with its surprising variety of styles, arrived in Brazil through groups and personalities such as Blitz (Brazilian band), Blitz, Camisa de Vênus, Barão Vermelho, Kid Abelha, Paralamas do Sucesso, , Lulu Santos, Rádio Táxi, Marina Lima, Engenheiros do Hawaii, RPM (Brazilian band), RPM, Graffiti, Ultraje a Rigor, Legião Urbana, Ira!, Titãs, Capital Inicial, Nenhum de Nós, Biquini Cavadão, Lobão (musician), Lobão & Os Ronaldos, Léo Jaime, and innumerous others. In January 1985, the Rock in Rio festival took place in Rio de Janeiro, which brought together over one million people to the City of Rock, Cidade do Rock during the 10 days of the event, and is to this day the country's biggest and most influential festival. It represents a milestone in Freedom of speech, freedom of expression, as in that same year the country saw the end of the Brazilian military government, dictatorship, and it is also responsible for establishing Brazil as a venue for international artists - as, so far, foreign attractions had been rarities. In Mexico, the Rock music scene at the time first saw a heavy lack of opportunity as musical acts could not make a solid living from playing alone. Other key factors were that of economic and political instability. Many consider this decade as the La Década Perdida, lost decade. The government would not allow racy themed content on television and the airwaves, music festivals were not allowed. The music that dominated Mexico and much of Latin America during this era were mostly teen flavored acts like Menudo (band), Menudo, Timbiriche, Flans and others. Rock acts could not land any recording deal because record label executives were much more interested in selling listeners a colourful, hip and trendy image to the general public ranging from youngsters to middle-aged adults. With the strong impact of Argentine and La Movida Madrileña, Spanish rock bands by the mid-1980s, the local scene would begin to develop acts that would generate an identity of its own. Among these were bands like El Tri (band), El Tri, Maldita Vecindad, Los Amantes de Lola and Caifanes.


Salsa

The salsa music had developed in the 1960s and '70s by Puerto Rican and Cuban immigrants to the New York City area but did not enter into mainstream popularity in Latin America until the late 1980s. The salsa music became together with cumbia the two most popular dance music but did not penetrate other countries outside the Caribbean as cumbia did. The 1980s was a time of diversification, as popular salsa evolved into sweet and smooth salsa romantica, with lyrics dwelling on love and romance, and its more explicit cousin, salsa erotica. Salsa Romantica can be traced back to ''Noches Calientes'', a 1984 album by singer José Alberto "El Canario" with producer Louie Ramirez. A wave of romantic singers found a wide audience among Latinos in both New York and Puerto Rico. The 1980s also saw salsa expand to Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Europe and Japan, and diversify into many new styles. In the 1980s some performers experimented with combining elements of salsa with hip hop music, while the producer and pianist Sergio George helped to revive salsa's commercial success. He created a sound based on prominent trombones and a rootsy, mambo-inspired style. He worked with the Japanese salsa band Orquesta de la Luz, and developed a studio orchestra that included Tito Nieves, Celia Cruz, José Alberto, La India, Tito Puente and Luis Enrique (singer), Luis Enrique. The Colombian singer Joe Arroyo first rose to fame in the 1970s but became a renowned exponent of Colombian salsa in the 1980s. Arroyo worked for many years with the Colombian arranger Fruko y sus Tesos, Fruko and his band Los Tesos.Steward, pgs. 493–497


Merengue

Merengue music would hit its golden years during the 1980s starting in the late 70s with acts such as Wilfrido Vargas, Johnny Ventura, and Fernando Villalona. Their orchestras would also churn future solo acts such as Eddy Herrera and Rubby Perez. By the end of the decade, La Coco Band would reinvent merengue with a more comedic style.


Oceania

Australian rock band
INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss ...
achieved international success during the decade with a series of hit recordings, including the albums ''Listen Like Thieves'' (1985), ''Kick (INXS album), Kick'' (1987), and the singles "Original Sin (INXS song), Original Sin" (1984), "Need You Tonight" (1987), "Devil Inside (INXS song), Devil Inside" (1988) and "New Sensation" (1987). Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988. Kylie Minogue first single, "The Loco-Motion, Locomotion" became a huge hit in Minogue's native Australia, spending seven weeks at number one on the Australian singles chart. The single eventually became the highest-selling Australian single of the decade. Throughout Europe and Asia the song also performed well on the music charts, reaching number one in Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Israel, Japan, and South Africa. The Australian rock band Men at Work achieved break-out success in 1981, and went on to have several hits on the international charts. The Church (band), The Church, Real Life (band), Real Life, Opus (Austrian band), Opus and Midnight Oil also had some notable hits on the international charts. Rick Springfield was well known in the early 1980s, and had several hits. In 1980, New Zealand rock band Split Enz released their album ''True Colours (Split Enz album), True Colours'', which became an international success. After the band broke up in 1984, Neil Finn, the younger brother of Tim Finn who had become Split Enz's de facto frontman after his departure in 1983, went on to form Crowded House in New Zealand in 1985. In 1986 Crowded House released their successful self-titled debut album, which went to number one in Australia and number three in New Zealand, as well as reaching the top ten in Canada and top 20 in the United States. It spawned the song "Don't Dream It's Over", which hit number one in New Zealand and Canada, number two in the United States and number eight in Australia, and has since become a pop/rock anthem in Australasia. Crowded House's follow up album ''Temple of Low Men'', released in 1988, did not achieve the same success as their debut, but was still popular in the band's homelands of New Zealand and Australia... The New Zealand band, Mi-Sex, had success with its hit single, "Computer Games (song), Computer Games" Other regional bands of note were The Swingers, Coconut Rough, The Crocodiles and Peking Man.


Asia

In Japan, bands such as Shonen Knife, Boredoms, The Star Club, X Japan, Dead End (band), Dead End and The Stalin began in the Japanese rock bands and Visual kei emerged in the 1980s with bands such as X Japan, Buck Tick and D'erlanger. Japanese noise rock emerged in the 1980s with bands such as Melt-Banana, Zeni Geva and Guitar Wolf in the Japanese's indies scene. City pop, an adult-oriented genre with western influences of
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...
, funk, soft rock, and Contemporary R&B, R&B also became popular with the Japanese tech boom. Popular artists in the genre were Anri and Tatsuro Yamashita. Most songs were about love or living in the city. The genre was barely known outside of Japan. However, city pop has been getting increasingly popular in the west with Internet-borne microgenre vaporwave. On May 3, 2019, Light in the Attic Records, Light in the Attic, an independent record label, released Pacific Breeze: Japanese City Pop, AOR, and Boogie 1976-1986. It was a compilation album that showcased what city pop is and its style. Japanese hardcore emerged with bands such as The Star Club and GISM and Japanese idol group Onyanko Club began as Idol group in the teen fans and youth fans. Besides, Hong Kong saw a rapid growth in pop music, both in terms of variety and popularity. Big stars such as Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui, Danny Chan, Alan Tam and Beyond (band), Beyond were icons of the decade. The 1980s is still regarded as the most successful period in Hong Kong music history. The Jets (Minnesota band), The Jets, a Tonga, Tongan-American band, had several hits on the international charts in the late 1980s.


See also

*1970s in music *1990s in music *1960s in music


References


Sources

*


Further reading

*Hill, Dave (1986). ''Designer Boys and Material Girls: Manufacturing the 80s Pop Dream''. Poole, Eng.: Blandford Press. {{ISBN, 0-7137-1857-9 1980s in music, 20th century in music 1980s decade overviews