Best 80s bands

Flock of Seagulls and Visage for me.....

Dexys Midnight Runners.

Johnny Hates Jazz.

*runs away laughing insanely*

If we mean bands that refelcted the 80's then Duran Duran are probably near the top of any list.

Well obviously its Japan isn't it. For the melding of synth artifice, chic glamour and eastern culture with genuinely great music. One foot in pop and the other firmly in art.

The split-off 80's Shadow to this was of course The Smiths.

Both were welcome at my house!

The Pets.
The cure
The Cocteau Twins
Japan
Human League
Culture Club
ABC
Adam and the Ants

The Police were in the 80s but they don't really feel like an 80s band to me...............

sheringham wrote:The Pets.
The cure
The Cocteau Twins
Japan
Human League
Culture Club
ABC
Adam and the Ants

The Police were in the 80s but they don't really feel like an 80s band to me...............

that pretty much does it for me but i'd add new order and echo and the bunnymen. plus loads of one hit wonders...

Human League were better in the seventies.

Jesus and Mary Chain, and whoever said Dexys was talking through his brainhole.

stanmore wrote:[w]hoever said Dexys was talking through his brainhole.

Is the brainhole good? I'm guessing not...

No, no, no.... very good...

stanmore wrote:No, no, no.... very good...

Excellent! I shall endeavour to spew the contents of my brainhole into the ether as frequently as is humanly possible, then!

Is it just me, or has no-one mentioned the Smiths yet?

Anyways:

The Human League (all incarnations- they had a b-side called Tom Baker, you know)
The Smiths
New Order
The Cure
ABC
The Pet Shop Boys
Altered Images (prostrate yourself before the altar of Claire Grogan)
The Teardrop Explodes (and the Arch Drudes solo material was pretty damned good as well)
and, just because I feel the need for a US presence, Murmur era REM.

'Nuff said.

Bunch of New Romantics and Shoe Gazers the lot of you.

The early 80s are also home to The New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and the one band that emerged from that sea of hair and screaming and is still going, is Iron Maiden.

Def Leppard are reduced to power ballands, so I don't count them as actually having survived. Maiden, on the other hand, still have the same appeal and are in the process of generating themselves a new fanbase.

Ultravox
U2
Depeche Mode
Visage
Teardrop Explodes
The Alarm
Big Country
Marillion
Simple Minds
The Smiths
New Order
The Cure

I love Flock of Seagulls, Kajagoogoo, Big Country, INXS, Depeche Mode, Ultravox, Simple Minds..and so many others. There was some fantastic music in the 80's.

Duran Duran, Dexys Midnight Runners, The Beat, Whitesnake, Visage, Japan, The Justified Ancients of Mu-Mu, Michael Jackson (well, not a band, obviously...)

The Pixies, The Butthole Surfers, The Flaming Lips, Mudhoney, Public Enemy, Sonic Youth, The Specials, Fugazi, Big Black, Rapeman, NWA, Adam and the Ants, Madness.

Can I add Spandau Ballet to my list of many months ago? Since they appeared on Wossy a few months back I have remembered how much I loved them.

I would like to apologize in advance if the bands are more from the 70s or 90s, I'm not very good with dates, but I'll make an effort!

There's a couple of them that I like...
The Cure
The Who
The Smiths
The Clash
The Pixies
The Stones Roses
Violent Femmes
The Ramones
Happy Mondays
Sparks
Fugazi
REM
Queen
Faith no more
Aerosmith
Metallica
The offspring
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Iron Maiden (sorry, I had to. I was in love with Eddie when I was 10 :p)
Téléphone
Trust
Noir Désir
Rita Mitsouko
Bérurier Noir

List non-exhaustive of course. ^^

Dave Webb wrote:Bunch of New Romantics and Shoe Gazers the lot of you.

The early 80s are also home to The New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and the one band that emerged from that sea of hair and screaming and is still going, is Iron Maiden.

Def Leppard are reduced to power ballands, so I don't count them as actually having survived. Maiden, on the other hand, still have the same appeal and are in the process of generating themselves a new fanbase.

Saxon are still going and still great, too.

Some of my favourite 80s bands: Lords Of The New Church, King Kurt, Hanoi Rocks, Anti Nowhere League, Bad Manners, W.A.S.P.