Scotland

I was born in 1977, so I’m technically a child from the 1980′s. I grew up in a day and age when the Internet did not exist, when kids still rode their bikes to visit their friends instead of texting or Whatsapping them, when kids TV programs were still awesome, when parents chased off their kids to bed when they wanted to watch Dynasty or Dallas and when Alex Jay still wore an ear ring on Fast Forward and Pop Shop. The fact remains that…

Call me sucker for nostalgia, but I would not be the music loving person that I am today if it wasn’t for the legendary songs of the 1980′s. Today I’m paying homage to three of them.

Simple Minds – Don’t You Forget About Me (1985): Scottish New Wave, pop rock, post-punk,alternative rock band Simple Minds have been around since 1977 and are still recording albums and playing shows. Their song “Don’t You Forget About Me” became extremely popular thanks to the release of The Breakfast Club (one of best films of the 1980′s). This song reached number one in the USA and Canada and peaked at number 7 on the UK singles chart. The music video for this song was directed by Daniel Kleinman and takes place on a dancing floor in a dark room with a chandelier, a rocking horse and television sets (which display scenes from the Breakfast Club).

Twisted Sister – We’re Not Gonna Take It (1984): This song by American 1980′s heavy metal band Twisted Sister was one of the first rock ‘n roll songs that I heard when I was growing up. The song was actually the second single that was released off their ‘Stay Hungry’ album. The song is notable for its popular music video directed by Marty Callner. The emphasis of the video was on slapstick comedy – a parent gets the worst of the band’s mischief. The single reached number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the USA. The song still gets airplay on Tuks FM and other radio stations around the world and has been etched into my music loving soul forever.

A-ha – The Sun Always Shines on TV (1985): To me Norwegian Synthpop / New Wave band A-ha will always be a symbol of the 1980′s. The band were formed in Oslo in 1982 and were musically active up to 2011. “The Sun Always Shine On TV” was the second single off their “Hunting High and Low” debut album. The song reached the number 1 position on the UK Singles chart, the number 2 position on the chart in Norway and the number 20 position on the Billboard 100 chart in the USA. The music video (directed by Steve Barron) opened with a continuation of the “Take on Me” video and featured rotoscoped animation (which was considered to be hi tech back in those days). I still remember this song’s music video playing on Pop Shop in South Africa in the 1980′s.

There you have it, 3 Legendary Songs from the 1980′s. I trust that these 3 tunes brought back a lot of memories for you. Some of you reading this might only have been a thought in your parents mind at the time, but I’m pretty sure that you enjoyed them too.

If you’ve enjoyed this trip down memory lane, feel free to share this post with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. Remember: Sharing is Caring.

Watch this space for regular updates in the Music category on Running Wolf’s Rant.

PS: This post is part of the A-Z Blog Challenge that I have joined for April 2013

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