80s pop icons

80s nostalgia lives on, principally through music. Much as I would never want to go back to the styles of the 80s (and nor, I think, would Daphne, haha!), I do still like a lot of the music. Unnerving to think that decade is now 20+ years ago. Hard to believe.

Anyway, a few (mostly British) pop icons from that decade:

Alison Moyet

A-Ha

aha17265005 80s pop icons

David Bowie

2ax8d00z4683915 80s pop icons

Bonnie Tyler

19188lg17199171 80s pop icons

Simon Le Bon

duranduransimonlebon440 80s pop icons

Toyah

toyah0667977 80s pop icons

Marc Almond

marcalmond0739587 80s pop icons

The Police

stingandthepolicethumb4 80s pop icons

Paul Weller

paulweller1038774 80s pop icons

Spandau Ballet

spandauballet153056s378 80s pop icons

Bananarama

bananarama13889109 80s pop icons

Wham

whamrap2158190 80s pop icons

Eurythmics

eurythmics3954205 80s pop icons

Morrissey

morrissey4136838 80s pop icons

Andy Bell

andybell1536984 80s pop icons

Marilyn

marilyn8340898 80s pop icons I am no News of the World reader but this ‘article’ looks at how some of those stars’ lives panned out, for better or worse. Of course, the language is what you’d expect from a red-top:

HE urged us to Feed The World – but 25 years after Band Aid, Eighties star Marilyn seems only to have fed his FACE.

For the slim, 10st gender bender who recorded Do They Know It’s Christmas with Bob Geldof and a host of other pop idols has ballooned to over 17 STONE…

mancais says:

31st May 2010 at 10:31 pm

I loved the 80′s – my high school and college years.

Justin says:

1st June 2010 at 9:02 pm

I loved the 80s too. It was such a fresh break from the 70s. The advent of 100% cotton clothes on the market after years of nothing but polyester was worth the price of admission alone!!! People my parents generation thought every new invention was god’s gift. Polyester? No more ironing! Margarine? MUST be better than butter! My mother thought I was crazy to start buying cotton.

You definitely got a lot of the icons there. I would add The Smiths, New Order, The Cure, and Depeche Mode for sure. I would also add Miami Vice and Risky Business and Brat Pack movies.

I adore Alison Moyet. And Yaz(oo) and Erasure. Eurythmics too. Bananarama was always good guilty-pleasure pop. Spandex Ballet and Wham! were ok.

I’m not sure I would call David Bowie an 80s icon. His biggest era was the 70s in terms of cultural impact.

I’m surprised you call Morrissey out of The Smiths but not Sting out of The Police, though in both instances the bands were far better IMHO than the solo acts which followed. Nothing can compare to the magic that was Morrissey and Johnny Marr. I was super-lucky to see The Smiths in Chicago in an intimate little club — no seats, just standing room and the band was on the same level as the rest of us, no stage. That was awesome. The Police I saw on tour in a big stadium, sadly, and that was for their Synchronicity tour — although it was one of their biggest, perhaps their biggest-selling albums, I thought it was also one of their weakest, frankly. I’m mostly a fan of their middle albums.

Duran Duran I would rather forget. And although the video for A-Ha’s one hit was cute, it was way overplayed. Hey, also, where’s Flock of Hairdos?

Milo says:

2nd June 2010 at 7:46 pm

Mancais – glad I’m not the only one!

Justin – fair point re: Bowie though Wikipedia said he rose to mega-stardom in the 80s! Yeh, I didn’t give much thought to the Bono/Sting Morrissey/Smiths listings, in fairness! Good that you got to see the Smiths, would have been amazing I’m sure! I wasn’t into them in that decade but appreciate them now.