Six remarkable and unforgettable debut albums from the 1980s

Cyndi Lauper - She’s So Unusual

She’s So Unusual, the debut album by Cyndi Lauper, was released in October 1983. This bright-sounding album mixed in new wave and a touch of punk with a synth sound fronted by Lauper and her great voice and quirky style. 

The album had several singles released from it, six in total. What a great tally for her debut record. Four of those singles were chart hits, the biggest being “Girls Just Want To Have Fun”. That was a huge hit around the world, multiple platinum, and made Lauper into a top star. She followed up with “Time After Time” not bad at all to have such a powerful song ready as a second single. It too soared high and was also a massive success everywhere. 

Lauper brought fun to her music, along with energy and great songs, she had a co-writer credit on several of the album tracks, including “Time After Time”. Her style was ideal for the MTV era and she was a regular there with her videos backing the singles from the album.

Lauper hit the big time with She’s So Unusual. Number four on Billboard 200, up to the sixth slot in the UK, and very successful elsewhere too. It sold over 25 million copies worldwide. The songs and album helped Lauper win a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1985. She went on to even more success afterwards too with more terrific songs and albums and a stage hit through Kinky Boots for which she wrote the music and lyrics, winning her a second Grammy award. An amazing artist and first album for sure.