“To Everything (turn, turn turn). there is a season (turn, turn, turn)," goes that classic folk song popularized by The Byrds in the sixties, and those lyrics so easily apply to any decade in popular music when hits and popular songs go. And as is the case, quite a few of these songs stick in our ears to this day, even more of those sink like rocks to the bottom of the sea.
Yet again, as is the case with every other decade there are some great songs that appear, make some sort of impact, and then linger around in our memory. The reason for that ‘lingering’ is that these songs have the sound and quality to become timeless in a way, deserving to be revived at every chance.
Here are 18 such songs from the 1980s that might be forgotten but need a serious revival today.
These songs from the 1980s might be forgotten but they should not be
The Specials - “Stereotype” (1980)
Specials were hailed as the spearheads of the ska movement, but by the time they recorded this song from their second album, More Specials, they were already moving elsewhere, taking this song to #6 in the UK charts at the time. Its biting lyrics and shifting rhythms still sound both fresh and true.
Boz Scaggs - “Jojo” (1980)
Remember the yuppies? They might not have been into yachts yet, but at the time Scaggs released this smooth blue-eyed soul/jazz thing, they were in full swing, and this was probably one of their signature songs, getting up to number 17. But with all the flak yuppies got, the song brims with a great move and complexity that is sadly missing from all the smooth categories these days.
The Clash - “Rock The Casbah” (1982)
By their fifth album (Combat Rock) the Clash were already all over the musical spectrum, and while some consider the album itself as a patchy affair, this single from the album, with the music track written by their drummer Topper Headon was actually the bands only single at the time that reach both the regular and dance charts.
Psychedelic Furs - “Love My Way” (1982)
By their third album Forever Now, Psychedelic Furs moved from being starstruck by David Bowie and into something special and their own, with this song leading the way. It had moderate chart success at the time but later became fans' favorite, with Richard Butler, the band, and guests (Todd Rundgren, Flo & Eddie) shining throughout.
The Plimsouls - “A Million Miles Away” (1982)
Before Peter Case became a fully-fledged folkie, he was in two cult bands - The Nerves and this one, the Plimsouls, whose music at the time was a cross between power pop and new wave, with this being the band’s signature song. Its inclusion in the Nicolas Cage movie Valley Girl (1983) gave it deserved exposure, that should have taken the band further up.
Freur - “Doot Doot” (1983)
Maybe the song’s name didn’t promise much, but its detailed atmospherics were great, even though the song didn’t go further at the time than number 59 in the UK charts. The band itself didn’t go much further, but its duo of Karl Hyde and Rick Smith turned into electro-pop sensations Underworld in the nineties.
Dan Hartman - “I Can Dream About You” (1984)
Walter Hill’s movie Streets of Fire was a big hit, and Hartman and his song from the soundtrack were one of the musical highlights of the film. Hartman didn’t actually sing it in the film itself, but his version was included on the soundtrack album, and his version hit the charts too.
Lyres - “Help You Ann” (1984)
The eighties also spawned a serious garage rock revival, with Boston’s Lyres being one of the frontrunners there. This, their signature song, never really hit the charts, but it was, and still is, all over the garage rock fans’ playlists of all time, that is.
Talk Talk - “It’s My Life” (1984)
Before late great Mark Ellis and other Talk Talk members took their sound into what is these days called ambient vocal, they were able to come up with a. great combination of new wave and electro-pop, this song from their second album being the most prominent one, having some moderate chart success at the time.
Echo & The Bunnymen - “Killing Moon” (1984)
One of the progenitors of both dream pop and shoegaze, Echo & The Bunnymen, this song from their Ocean Rain album eventually became their biggest hit single (number nine on the UK charts), but at the same time, defined their sound as the best. Its feature as part of the Donnie Darko soundtrack at the turn of this century gave it a further boost.
The Art of Noise - “Moments In Love” (1985)
How do you turn the musical wallpaper of most of the 1980s new age music into something of substance and true elegance? You can ask Trevor Horn, the mastermind behind this one, with the song hitting the charts then and now (2023) and being sampled by everybody from J Dilla to Drake.
R.E.M. - “Driver 8” (1985)
R.E.M.’s earlier albums, like their third one, Fables of Reconstruction, and most of the singles taken from them somehow (undeservedly) fell into the shadows. This song crawled into the charts at the time (number 22) but is surely one of the highlights of this album.
Bryan Ferry - “Don’t Stop The Dance” (1985)
This song and the album it came from (Boys and Girls) took Brian Ferry from razor-edge rock of his early Roxy Music days to something that got the name of Adult Contemporary, so much in vogue in the mid-eighties. No matter, it was a great song, with David Sandborn’s sax leading the way.
The Bangles - “Going Down To Liverpool” (1986)
With all the great originals they came up with, The Bangles also had a penchant for coming up with equally great covers, here taking Kimberley Rew’s song (Rew of Katrina and The Waves) to even greater heights, even though it had only mild chart success (number 79)
Prince - “Kiss” (1986)
In his prime, Prince always hit high in the charts, and this, his sort of homage to James Brown's side of funk, promptly reached number one everywhere and for all the good reasons. Through time, it somehow got forgotten and is one of those songs that need a serious revival.
The Replacements - “Alex Chilton” (1987)
Paul Westerberg’s ode to one of the unsung rock legends comes from one of the band's best (and possibly most melodic) albums, with Chilton himself present in the studio while it was recorded. It was never a big hit that it should have been, but it still sounds fresh and new to this day.
Danny Wilson - “Mary’s Payer” (1987)
This Scottish band was something of a one-hit wonder with this song, but their two albums showed what sophistic-pop should sound like, both then and now. This Gary Clark gem deservedly reached #3 at the time.
The Church - “Under The Milky Way” (1988)
Australians the Church came up with some great neo-psychedelia before and after this, their most renowned song which reached high twenties in the charts. A brilliant song itself, it didn’t take the band further with a wider audience, and it should have.