BBC Music has one list after another, and that's a good thing. Whether one completely agrees with what the site comes up with or not, the challenge of making so many best-ofs should be admired. Even when BBC Music is wrong, it's a fun read.
Writer Steve Wright recently came up with one about underrated 1980s bands, a decade that saw a lot of bands get more into videos than making great albums. That means a lot of the good stuff got covered up by the MTV era. Many gems are still to be found.
Wright's list is a solid one, with his opinion of 12 bands that deserve more love. One could argue with the Replacements making the list (but only because the Replacements seem to make every one of these kinds of "underrated '80s" articles, which makes them rather, well...rated), but the inclusion of Killing Joke is sound.
Three bands that should have been on BBC Music's underrated 1980s list
His list could have been much longer, of course, but there is only so much space. The three bands below would have been worthy to be in the grouping, too.
The Time
Morris Day and his group certainly appeared in one iconic movie, so in that way, they will be seen forever. Day was the antagonist in Purple Rain, and the Time was the big house band. In truth, Prince and Day were good friends, and the Purple One wrote many of the Time's tunes, which might be one reason they were so good.
Some of the tracks were far too sexually explicit, but many were magic jams with some great musicianship (admittedly, a lot of that, like on "777-9311," was also Prince. But the Time was not without talent, especially in how the music was made. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, for instance, helped produce several hits for Janet Jackson, including the album Control.
The Fixx
Even in the 1980s, the Fixx sounded different. They had a tinny sound that was nowhere near Industrial, but didn't really fit in the pure pop world, either. Even one of their popular tunes, "Saved by Zero," seems like an odd tune to gain a mass following.
Dark and brooding, and with a highly intelligent bent, the band released many songs that are still vibrant 40 years later. "Stand or Fall," "One Thing Leads to Another," and "Our We Ourselves?" are gems that need more attention decades later. Even Tina Turner was a fan, as the Fixx was the backing band for her hit track, "Better Be Good to Me."
Mission to Burma
The Boston post-punkers influenced a whole host of great bands that would come much later. Dave Grohl was a follower, for instance. The only issue was that the best of MTB came in only four short years. The group did reform in the early 2000s, but without Martin Swope, who literally engineered the brilliance of the band's sound.
The original full lineup only released one LP, Vs. It captures everything the band sounded like live, which was when Mission to Burma was at its best. The album is a hidden 1980s gem that all music lovers should have as part of their collection.
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