We’re at the midpoint of this series – and the midpoint of the ’80s.
In 1985, I was finishing my undergraduate years at Indiana University Bloomington.
And, by year’s end, I was student teaching at North Central High School in Indianapolis.
Lots of songs in this set bring back those memories:
One movie that resonated with our college graduating class was St. Elmo’s Fire.
Longtime record producer David Foster had his sole Top 40 hit as a performer with the movie’s instrumental love theme.
Foster had his hands in another song on this set, as producer of the lone Hot 100 hit for fellow Canadians Paul Hyde and the Payolas. “You’re the Only Love” hit No. 84 in June.
A good number of these songs were MTV darlings:
None more than ’Til Tuesday’s “Voices Carry,” as much for the arresting appearance of singer-composer Aimee Mann as for the emotionally charged video.
Others whose videos proved irresistible were:
Godley & Crème’s “Cry,”
Marillion’s “Kayleigh,”
Baltimora’s “Tarzan Boy”
and USA for Africa’s “We Are the World.”
At the same time, to a degree not seen since the disco era, songs ruled the dance floors as well as the airwaves.
Among them:
Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Relax,”
Scritti Politti’s “Perfect Way,”
And Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark’s “So in Love.”
That also went for songs that didn’t quite make it to AT40“
Such as Bronski Beat’s “Smalltown Boy…”
And 9.9’s “All of Me for All of You.”
Among artists known well in other contexts and now registering on the Top 40 as soloists:
… Former Yaz singer Alison Moyet with “Invisible,”
… Stage and screen performer Murray Head doing the speaking but not the singing on “One Night in Bangkok,”
… And longtime E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons earning a hit of his own with “You’re a Friend of Mine,” a duet with Jackson Browne.
The Spotify link for this set is here…
And on YouTube, you can find a few songs unavailable on Spotify:
Including the 9.9 track…
…as well as “Tragedy” by Chicago native John Hunter:
Which ones do you like? Hate?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Scattered 4am ADHD thoughts. Only knew 8 of these songs, 3 of which were #1s. Thumbs up to “Smalltown Boy” and “Tarzan Boy”. Had to play “Theme from St Elmo’s Fire” for a wedding more than once. The song is meh. I despise all of the characters in that movie, every last one of them, but the ending and the still shot of the bar is surprisingly poignant; at least I found it to be so. I want to like “Voices Carry” more than I do.
I’ve noted over the years that “Voices Carry” is almost everyone’s favorite Til Tuesday song.
For me, it’s a tossup between “Coming Up Close” and this one:
https://youtu.be/O6eeURFNmxI?si=W2sH8zPbOTUGtt2l
I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that I used to buy records from Aimee Mann when she worked at Newbury Comics in Boston. ‘Til Tuesday was just starting up and they won WBCN’s Rock And Roll Rumble in 1983, the same year my band played it. There were tons of other greats that year: Sex Execs, Del Fuegos, Christmas, Jerry’s Kids, Salem 66…. I’m telling ya, the early 80s Boston scene was super cool.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Bronski Beat, Murray Head, Godley and Creme, Scritti Politti, Clarence Clemons… all good stuff. Maybe it wasn’t just Boston that was cool.
I’m telling ya, the early 80s Boston scene was super cool.
Residency and nostalgia biases aside: it was amazing.
The live music scene was vibrant and exciting in a way that is hard to describe. Everyone, be it loyal music fans or hard-working performers, was all-in. It was as supportive and communal of an experience as one could ever imagine.
And with a 24/7 soundtrack provided by WBCN, to boot. All of it may or may not have been important – but it sure felt important.
Side note: I’ve said before that there is a better-than-zero chance that in those days, I was riding on the same subway car, drinking in the same bar, browsing in the same record shop, or in the same guitar store as Virgindog.
Who I just met 4 1/2 years ago, along with all of you.
Random coincidence or a greater synchronicity? Either way, It blows my mind.
If your wallet ever went missing on the subway, yeah, that was me.
And I hear the late 80s scene in Boston was downright EDUCATIONAL!!!!!
Okay, we’ve finally reached the point where I can recognize some more minor hits and wonder “who sings it?”
I knew 6 of the songs here. And I correctly named 5 of the artists.
But one was a bit of a cheat, since I simply recognized Alison Moyet’s voice without knowing the song. So really, 4 songs where I could recall the artist among those whose songs I knew.
All in all, a moderately strong body of songs. I’m digging “One Night in Bangkok.”
“When Your Heart is Weak” unfortunately lives up to the last word in the title when it coms to the vocals and production. Just because it’s a ballad doesn’t mean your delivery should be limp. And I remember a rather devastating review of Cock Robin when it performed live in Greensboro, North Carolina, on the strength of the song (their only hit, albeit a minor one). Otherwise, a pretty good selection here.
Due to the proliferation of Brits & Irish acts I’m on safer ground at last. For once all of the Brits featured did actually have success at home as well. Even if Perfect Way missed the top 40 they had plenty other hits. The OMD track isn’t one I’m overly familiar with. From summer of ’85 through the rest of the 80s they only appeared in the top 40 once with other than (Forever) Live And Die, before having a renaissance in the 90s.
Frankie, Alison, Bronski Beat, Marillion, Godley & Creme and Baltimora are all great songs that instantly take me back to my childhood.
Of the non British Isles aligned, I know Freddie Jackson, Michael Sembello, Clarence Clemons (though never heard the song before), Cock Robin and of course, USA For Africa.
Til Tuesday I only heard about in retrospect once Aimee Mann got a bit of a profile here thanks to the Magnolia soundtrack.
Paul Hyde And The Payolas; just feels like an awful name.
I knew a solid 9 of these. With each year that passes, my musical identity was being formed, and thus my recognition of (and nostalgia for) the songs. I was age 10-11 through 1985, and very much a child of MTV.
“Smalltown Boy” and “Tarzan Boy” are the clear winners in today’s installment. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of either of these songs, which despite both having the word Boy in the title are quite different sonically. Asking me to pick my favorite would like asking me to choose whether I like scotch or pizza more — they rule their own categories and should never be held against one another.
Thank you, mt, for the inspiration. Seeing your photo from the North Central H.S. 1985 yearbook led me to think I’d never seen the school’s 1986 yearbook (I student-taught in fall 1985, so if I were mentioned it would have been in the 1986 book).
A quick web search, link at classmates.com, and voila!
Atta beloved teacher.