Must-have songs for an 80s party

[doodle]

A friend of mine is hosting an 80s party in a couple of months, and since I''m a notorious 80s music junkie, she happily accepted my offer to cover the music for her. I have a seriously long list of 80s music, but I guess I just wanted to double check and make sure I didn''t leave off anything particularly iconic, so my question is, for you, what song or songs are absolute musts for an 80s party? When you think of 80s music, what springs to mind first?

 

[sunnyd]

Boston - More Than A Feeling
Journey - pretty much anything! I love Journey!
Rick Springfield - Jesse''s Girl
Phil Collins - Sussudio

Crap, my mind just blanked. I love 80s music, hair bands especially!

 

[zoebartlett]

Anything by Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen''s "Born in the USA" CD, Men Without Hats, Duran Duran, and the Police would be a good start.

 

[Hera]

google VH1''s 100 greatest 80''s songs. I think there are billboards you can google too.

 

[packrat]

Go 80''s!

Michael Jackson?

Hair bands and men in make up scream 80''s to me. Poison was my LIFE back in the day. Motley Crue. GnR.

 

[somethingshiny]

Take On Me- A Ha
Pour Some Sugar on Me- ??
Red Red Wine- UB40
Walk Like an Egyptian - The Bangles
Opposites Attract - Paula Abdul (I used to love the video)
Whip It- Devo
Everybody Have Fun Tonight - ?? (Every body Wang Chung tonight...)
Poison - Bel Biv Devoe (this may have been early 90''s)
Don''t Worry Be Happy - ??
Amadeus - ??
Don''t turn around, der komissar''s in town... -??
Blame it on the Rain - Milli Vanilli
Like a Virgin- Madonna



That''s the short list for me.

 

[packrat]

Shiny! Rock Me Amadeus! OMG I have to go listen to it on youtube now-I seriously love that song!!

 

[Kaleigh]

Soft Cell- Tainted Love

 

[packrat]

Ok, now that Amadeaus is rocking me..there's another song that I dig that I can't remember now that I have another song playing...it was in a musical..or it was a musical or something..I think of tails and tap shoes and a cane gah! I'll be back!

ETA: It's Taco, Puttin on the Ritz. I just spent 5 minutes watching Fred Astaire dance and just..he and Gene Kelly make me tingly. I love watching them dance.

Good call on Tainted Love! The Wedding Singer has a lot of 80's songs in it..I've got the soundtrack (blush)..like Too Shy-Kajagoogoo. I dig Boy George, so I would suggest Culture Club as well.

 

[Vancity]

Quintessential 80''s tune:

Money For Nothing - Dire Straits

A great tune, with one of the most recognizable guitar rifts ever, courtesy of Mr. Knopfler

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Gotta go with Prince "Baby I''m A Star" from 1982

from Wikipedia

"The upbeat song is about pop stardom, specifically a rising star as the chorus states "You might not know it now, baby, but I are — I''m a star. I don''t wanna stop, till I reach the top."

Jeff

 

[Cehrabehra]

girls just want to have fun
material girl
holiday
rock you like a hurricane
anything duran duran
take on me (take me on)
boy george

I could go on and on lol

Could you specify a genre? Oingo Boingo, Talking Heads, Motley Crue, I mean there''s probably 80''s jazz out there lol

 

[Bia]

Love Song and Just Like Heaven - The Cure
Enjoy the Silence - Depeche Mode
Tenderness - General Public
Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears
Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper

I have more...these are just some of my favorites. Let me think on it a sec.

 

[decodelighted]

The Go-gos -- "We Got The Beat", "Our Lips Are Sealed" or "This Town"
B-52''s --"Rock Lobster"
Pat Benatar --"Hit Me With Your Best Shot"
Wham -- "Wake Me Up Before You Go go"
"Le Freak C''est Chic Freak Out"
"Don''t You Forget About Me"

 

[Bia]

Found some good ones!

Take On Me - A-Ha
Do you really want to hurt me - Culture Club
Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
Love is a Battlefield - Pat Benatar
Little Red Corvette - Prince
Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran
White Wedding - Billy Idol

I''ll find more. Yay! I love this thread

 

[CasaBlanca]

REO Speedwagon
Little River Band
Bob Seager
Queen
Jan Hammer/Miami Vice themes
Thompson Twins
Fleetwood Mac?
Abba?
Robert Palmer? (was he more early 90's?)

Your best suggestions have already been mentioned...but do add REO and Queen tot the playlist at least!!!

EDITED: Oops, you asked for songs...eeks. I may have to come back to edit...who am I kidding? I didn't know the names of the songs then...knew the words, but the names not so much.

Eye of the Tiger, WE are the champions/Queen on that one!

Oh JOHN COUGAR!!!! You will find him now as John Cougar Mellencamp no Cougar...no now he is going to run for political office...so you need to call him SIR.

Ain't even done with the night-John Cougar that is about all I have in me so far!

 

[April20]

Cindy Lauper!- Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Bananarama- Cruel Summer
Till Tuesday- Voices Carry
Duran Duran- Anything!
Culture Club- Karma Chameleon
Howard Jones- No One is to Blame
Original Van Halen- Jump
Motley Crue- Anything really
Def Leppard- Anything by them too!

 

[Bia]

Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard
Borderline - Madonna
Lullaby - The Cure (I

The Cure)
Smooth Operator - Sade
Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2
Need You Tonight - INXS
Manic Monday - The Bangles

...

 

[Bia]

Africa - Toto
Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant ...GOOD ONE!!!
Our House - Madness
Sharped Dressed Man - ZZ Top
Here I Go Again - Whitesnake ...if you want some cornball ballady 'Heavy Metal'

Home Sweet Home - Motley Crue

 

[Dancing Fire]

were there music after the 70''s?

 

[somethingshiny]

If someone would like to make a CD out of this thread, I''d be ever so grateful!!

I''m having flash backs of a "totally awesome" sweatshirt with puff paint, leggings, hot pink leg warmers and converse.

 

[CasaBlanca]

Dancing Fire, take you and your CCR and Grand Funk and start your own thread! Shew!

 

[doodle]

You guys are awesome! My biggest problem with this is not coming up with stuff so much as narrowing it down (like I said in my OP, I have a LOOOONG list, haha!), so I figure if certain songs are the first ones to come to mind for people, and even more so if multiple people think of that song, then that one just HAS to be on the list, you know? It''s funny to me how different songs come to mind based on where you''re from, too. I''m a Georgia girl and my husband grew up in NYC; I immediately thought of the pop and rock songs first while he immediately thought of the new wave stuff (the vast majority of the people I grew up with have probably never even heard of New Order; my husband followed them on their entire last tour!). Feel free to keep ''em coming--I welcome suggestions from all genres!

 

[doodle]

Date: 3/4/2010 6:11:59 PM
Author: ZoeBartlett
Anything by Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen''s ''Born in the USA'' CD, Men Without Hats, Duran Duran, and the Police would be a good start.

LOL, I''m dressing up as Cyndi Lauper just to give me an excuse to see what I look like as a redhead! I figure if I was willing to damage my hair as much as I did for the last 80s party I went to (I was Richard Simmons and made my real hair look like his. Nuff said!), a little bit of dye is nothing, right?

 

[Bia]

Date: 3/4/2010 9:14:57 PM
Author: doodle

Date: 3/4/2010 6:11:59 PM

Author: ZoeBartlett

Anything by Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen's 'Born in the USA' CD, Men Without Hats, Duran Duran, and the Police would be a good start.

LOL, I'm dressing up as Cyndi Lauper just to give me an excuse to see what I look like as a redhead! I figure if I was willing to damage my hair as much as I did for the last 80s party I went to (I was Richard Simmons and made my real hair look like his. Nuff said!), a little bit of dye is nothing, right?

This sounds like so much fun! I love the 80s everything...Cyndi Lauper is a great choice

I'll keep posting as songs come to mind - I have to relax otherwise I'll be here all night.

 

[ksinger]

In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins 1981

ETA - I pretty much did this about 2 years ago, when my husband and I threw a huge wedding reception - if you could call it that - it was just a huge outdoor patio party by a lake. We had a friend compile music for us, and while it wasn't strictly 80s, given my age, quite a bit of it was (probably more 70's though). Good luck with your party!!

 

[OUpearlgirl]

COME ON EILEEN!!! By Dexy''s Midnight Runners.

Oh how I big puffy heart this song!

 

[April20]

Date: 3/4/2010 9:35:00 PM
Author: OUpeargirl
COME ON EILEEN!!! By Dexy''s Midnight Runners.

Oh how I big puffy heart this song!

around 2001 or so there was a website where you could download actual songs as your cell phones ring tone for free. They got shut down like four months later for copyright infringement, but I digress. I downloaded this song to my boss''s cell phone. It was great! He loved it.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Yessss!

1. Bon Jovi / "Livin'' on a Prayer" (1986)
2. Def Leppard / "Pour Some Sugar On Me" (1987)
3. Duran Duran / "Hungry Like the Wolf" (1982)
4. Michael Jackson / "Billie Jean" (1982)
5. Prince / "When Doves Cry" (1984)
6. Hall & Oates / "I Can''t Go For That (No Can Do)" (1981)
7. Guns N'' Roses / Sweet Child O'' Mine (1987)
8. Madonna / "Like a Virgin" (1984)
9. Run-D.M.C. / "Walk This Way" (1986)
10. AC/DC / "You Shook Me All Night Long" (1980)
11. Journey / Don''t Stop Believing (1981)
12. Whitney Houston / "How Will I Know" (1985)
13. U2 / "With Or Without You" (1987)
14. The Bangles / "Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986)
15. Van Halen / "Jump" (1984)
16. INXS / "Need You Tonight" (1987)
17. Whitesnake / "Here I Go Again" (1982)
18. Dexy''s Midnight Runners / "Come On Eileen" (1982)
19. Cyndi Lauper / "Time After Time" (1984)
20. Rick Springfield / "Jessie''s Girl" (1981)
21. Michael Jackson / "Beat It" (1982)
22. The Cure / "Just Like Heaven" (1987)
23. Cyndi Lauper / "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (1984)
24. A-Ha / "Take On Me" (1985)
25. Go-Go''s / "Our Lips Are Sealed" (1981)
26. Guns N'' Roses / "Welcome to the Jungle" (1987)
27. Kajagoogoo / "Too Shy" (1984)
28. Wham! / "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (1984)
29. Talking Heads / "Burning Down the House" (1983)
30. Pat Benatar / "Love is a Battlefield" (1983)
31. Queen and David Bowie / "Under Pressure" (1981)
32. Night Ranger / "Sister Christian" (1983)
33. Soft Cell / "Tainted Love" (1981)
34. Poison / "Every Rose Has It''s Thorn" (198
35. Phil Collins / "In the Air Tonight" (1981)
36. Tommy Tutone / "867-5309/Jenny" (1981)
37. Aerosmith / "Janie''s Got a Gun" (1989)
38. U2 / "Pride (In the Name of Love)" (1984)
39. Modern English / "I Melt With You" (1982)
40. The B-52''s / "Love Shack" (1989)
41. Mötley Crüe / "Dr. Feelgood" (1989)
42. The Clash / "London Calling" (1982)
43. ABC / "Look of Love" (1982)
44. Bananarama / "Cruel Summer" (1984)
45. Janet Jackson / "Nasty" (1986)
46. The Police / "Every Breath You Take" (1983)
47. Twisted Sister / "We''re Not Gonna Take It" (1984)
48. Bruce Springsteen / "Born in the U.S.A." (1984)
49. Beastie Boys / "Fight For Your Right" (1986)
50. Eurythmics / "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (1983)
51. Ratt / "Round and Round" (1984)
52. Dead or Alive / "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" (1985)
53. Billy Idol / "White Wedding" (198
54. Salt-N-Pepa / "Push It" (1986)
55. A Flock of Seagulls / "I Ran (So Far Away)" (1982)
56. Bonnie Tyler / "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (1983)
57. Toni Basil / "Mickey" (1981)
58. Culture Club / "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (1982)
59. John Mellencamp / "Jack & Diane" (1982)
60. Young M.C. / "Bust a Move" (1989)
61. Styx / "Mr. Roboto" (1983)
62. Berlin / "Take My Breath Away" (1986)
63. Devo / "Whip It" (1980)
64. Paula Abdul / "Straight Up" (198
65. Foreigner / "I Want to Know What Love Is" (1984)
66. Depeche Mode / "Just Can''t Get Enough" (1981)
67. REO Speedwagon / "Keep On Loving You" (1980)
68. Public Enemy / "Fight the Power" (198
69. R.E.M. / "It''s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" (1980)
70. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts / "I Love Rock N'' Roll" (1981)
71. Rick James / "Super Freak" (1981)
72. The Fixx / "One Thing Leads to Another" (1983)
73. Nena / "99 Luftballons" (1983)
74. George Michael / "Faith" (1987)
75. Prince / "Little Red Corvette" (1983)
76. Thomas Dolby / "She Blinded Me With Science" (1982)
77. New Edition / "Candy Girl" (1983)
78. Blondie / "Call Me" (1980)
79. Human League / "Don''t You Want Me?" (1981)
80. Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock / "It Takes Two" (198
81. Cameo / "Word Up!" (1986)
82. Squeeze / "Tempted" (1981)
83. Prince / "Kiss" (1986)
84. Lionel Richie / "All Night Long (All Night)" (1983)
85. Robert Palmer / "Addicted to Love" (1985)
86. Bow Wow Wow / "I Want Candy" (1982)
87. Falco / "Rock Me Amadeus" (1986)
88. Chaka Khan / "Ain''t Nobody" (1989)
89. The Pretenders / "Brass in Pocket" (1980)
90. Tone-Loc / "Wild Thing" (1989)
91. Katrina and The Waves / "Walking On Sunshine" (1983)
92. New Kids on the Block / "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" (198
93. Gary Numan / "Cars" (1980)
94. Rolling Stones / "Start Me Up" (1981)
95. Debbie Gibson / "Only in My Dreams" (1987)
96. Men at Work / "Down Under" (1982)
97. The Romantics / "What I Like About You" (1980)
98. Bobby Brown / "My Perogative" (198
99. Wang Chung / "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" (1986)
100. Loverboy / "Working for the Weekend" (1981)

 

[Vancity]

Did anyone mention:

Missing You ~ John Waite

Sunglasses at Night ~ Corey Hart

I

remembering all these great songs...they got me through the great Vancity bus strike of ''84