Eight excellently exciting basslines from classic 1980s songs

When writing about the fantastic basslines of ten 1970s songs it was easy to see that was not exclusive to that decade. There was plenty of disco and funk back then, but those were just styles where bass guitar had a natural home. It’s very flexible though and makes a great fit with many different genres.

Over the years there have been plenty of examples of excellent basslines making songs stand out. Sometimes it's an elaborate walking bassline or slapping out a jazzy rhythm. It could be adding a funky tone or driving the tune in pace or melody. And there are plenty of other variations of the way a bassline is used and the type of music it features in. 

This time, let's take a look at some classics from the 1980s. These eight songs show incredible variety in style and playing. The bass in each is significant, but often for different reasons. In most cases, they feature absolute experts on the bass instrument, though that's not the case for all eight as you’ll soon find out 

Eight excellent 1980s basslines

Queen - “Another One Bites The Dust”

The one-artist rule for this list immediately kicks in with John Deacon of Queen having two stunning options in the 1980s. He wrote and played two fabulous songs with brilliant bass lines. “Another One Bites The Dust” from The Game in 1980 just edges ahead of “Under Pressure” from a year later, but either would have a valid claim. 

“Another One Bites The Dust” is memorable for that subtle, simple but very funky bass hook running through it. Right from the start it throbs and pulses away. Backed by the spacey drums it’s not a typical Queen sound, but still a classic tune. Deacon sure knows how to write them. 

Pink Floyd - “Another Brick In The Wall”

Was this where Pink Floyd and Roger Waters went disco too? There is a bit of a disco strut going in, untypically Pink Floyd in that respect. The bass though is very prominent in that. Surprisingly quite a few Pink Floyd songs have David Gilmour on bass, including some tracks on The Wall like “Comfortably Numb”. This song though is very much Waters playing the basslines. 

On the album, the song comes in three parts. Pink Floyd fans will know all three, it’s Part 2 which was released as a single and carries the majority of the attention. That’s where Waters on bass will be most familiar to many. 

It’s a slow brooding start, the bass builds as it goes in. A slightly menacing burble beneath the song. Gilmour and Waters don't see eye to eye these days but the mix of Waters on bass and Gilmour's guitar solo later in the song is very harmonious and complementary. A great pairing.

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